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Saturday, April 9, 2016

Jokester God Plays Trick On James Malm

God, the eternal jokester play a cruel trick on the followers of James Malm tonight. The Chief Pharisee has been predicting that the "new moon" would appear tonight in Jerusalem. The Chief Pharisee was adamant that the new moon would be sighted on Friday:

April 7, 2016

New Year Update: Update on the Barley in Jerusalem. This update is only referring to Jerusalem. About 40% is abib, and about 10%, or maybe a little less, has jumped all the way to being ripe in the last few days. With hot dry weather predicted for the rest of the week, there should be no problem for the majority of the barley to be abib by the sighting of the new moon on Friday.

Since the Jerusalem barley is the last to ripen the entire harvest will be ready to be reaped after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

April 8, 2016Announcements: The sighting of the new moon will be reported in a special post with extensive study material as soon as the moon’s light is sighted at Jerusalem; expected this evening.

Between looking for ripe barley on the roadside or neighborhood park to standing outside in the cold to be the first to catch sight of the slightest sliver of the moon rising, the legalists will go to any length to devalue the work of Jesus so that the law trumps.

God must have been having some fun tonight when thongs did not go as planned for the Malmites.

NEW MOON UPDATE 13:15 EDT: There is heavy haze over Jerusalem and a sighting of the new moon this evening is in doubt. We will continue looking in hopes the haze will open up long enough for the moon’s first light to be seen. As this is day 29 of the 13th month and no month may be longer than 30 days, if the new moon is not seen tonight then tomorrow night will begin the new moon by default.

Already having some fun with the legalists, God takes it even further. He decides to send a dust storm to totally obscure the "new" moon.

The new moon would normally be easily seen this evening, however a dust storm covered the entire region and the first visible light of the new moon was NOT seen by anyone at Jerusalem or anywhere else in the region this evening.

God has power over the weather and atmospheric conditions and God could have caused conditions to remain normal and allow the moon to be sighted, but God chose not to do so.

Since this was the 29th day of the 13th month and no month can be longer than 30 days, sunset tomorrow evening will end the 30th day and a new month will automatically begin at sunset ending Saturday 9 April, 2016, and Sunday 10 April 2016 is the first day of the first month of the Biblical year.

Because weather conditions do occasionally cause a delay in beginning new months after 29 day months, it is always very important to confirm by actual sightings, and it is also very important to schedule the expected day and the following day just in case the moon is not sighted as expected.

Please note that this year the Feast of Trumpets is also after a 29 day month and should be booked for the expected day and also the following day just in case the moon light is not seen as expected.

It appears as if James rejects the calculated new moon of Hillel II, which is more accurate than physical sighting. A new moon which is obscured by cloud cover or dust storm is still a new moon, whether people in Jerusalem can see it, or not.

The direct observation method is another suggestion that the calendar and holy days were originally intended as part of a localized culture to set apart the Hebrew people from their immediate surrounding neighbors and the pervasive paganism which they embraced.

Since Armstrongism extrapolates the holy days to make them apply to all inhabitants of earth, when there is cloud cover in Jerusalem, it is logical that if the new moon is visible from a non-cloudy vantage point other than Jerusalem, it is still known as being the new moon.

Also, why would James Malm make such a fetish over being able to observe the new moon and the barley in Jerusalem, and then ignore the part about travelling to Jerusalem three times per year to keep the feasts? Shouldn't there be a drought in his part of Canada due to his failure to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles? Seems like his Phariseeism is only partial. He is half in, and half out. But that is what we mean when we say that Armstrongism is based on pick and choose observance of the oracles of the Sinai covenant.

James is an old man, yet he spends the remainder of his days on trivia. Yes I've heard his argument that it's important to God, and that this trivia is a test. But it is still in perspective, trivia. As Christ said,

Matthew 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

James, if you and your supporters want to please God, work on the inside of the cup. For instance, you relate to others from top dog position. I know, since I have been reading your blog for years. So try reading books on assertiveness, eg I have rights and you have rights. No top dog (I'm the boss, with all of the rights) present.

" The Chief Pharisee has been predicting that the "new moon" would appear tonight in Jerusalem. The Chief Pharisee was adamant that the new moon would be sighted on Friday." "God must have been having some fun tonight when things did not go as planned for the Malmites.

NEW MOON UPDATE 13:15 EDT: There is heavy haze over Jerusalem and a sighting of the new moon this evening is in doubt. We will continue looking in hopes the haze will open up long enough for the moon’s first light to be seen. As this is day 29 of the 13th month and no month may be longer than 30 days, if the new moon is not seen tonight then tomorrow night will begin the new moon by default."

What's the beef? I fly no flag for James Malm, he was wrong in his forecast and he later admitted it, giving good reason for doing so.

Even worse, Joker D. Malm tries to play dirty tricks on former Worldwide Church of God people. In saying that the new year this year is Sunday April 10, 2016 on the Gregorian calendar, James Malm is wrong yet again. Remember that James Malm rebelled against Herbert W. Armstrong and left the WCG in 1986 while HWA was still alive. Malm's calendar confusion is not surprising. His (now ex-) wife's sacred names nonsense is not surprising either. James Malm wants people to try to “think for themselves” by carelessly rejecting what HWA had taught and by carelessly accepting whatever James Malm teaches.

The Jewish Calendar 2016, based on the calculated Hebrew calendar, says Nisan 1 this year is Saturday April 9, 2016 on the Gregorian calendar. This is the first day of the new year.

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For those who are interested, the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc. (COGWA) has a 25-page Study Paper called The Hebrew Calendar posted at its website. It supports the calculated Hebrew calendar position that Herbert W. Armstrong believed in.

Understanding that it was a Rabbi Hillel 2 who assembled the "Hebrew Calendar" around 320-385 CE ie, after the first advent of Yeshua, I did a Google on the matter and found an opposing point of view 'Right Here'.

Then I remembered the scripture "Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Rom 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."WERE COMMITTED - past tense and such 'oracles' can be found in the Jewish Tanach, what we know as the Old Testament. However there is no mention there of a fixed calendar with postponements. I suggest that the 'oracles' ceased to be given to the Jews once the Holy Spirit was made available to all who would accept Yeshua as their personal savior. Any further enlightenment would come from the leading of the Holy Spirit given to those that will obey Him as in "Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, that God hath given to them that obey him."

Imagine the problems even with an organisation the size of LCG, or UCG, or COGWA.

Suddenly all the spring festivals have shifted with less than two weeks notice.

Those halls booked for Passover on Thursday 21st – cancel them, and rebook for Friday evening.

Friday night to be remembered meals – cancel them and rebook for Saturday night.

First day of Unleavened Bread – no it’s not Sat 23rd, we need halls for all day Sunday 24th instead. And those halls booked for Friday 29th April for the last day – don’t need them any more, because we are moving that to Sat 30th April.

Why – because it was misty in Jerusalem a couple of days ago. The moon was still there, and everyone knows that really, but as no one saw it, we have to pretend that maybe it wasn’t there.

Not the most practicable of calendars.

But this could just be practice for the autumn. James adds:-

“Please note that this year the Feast of Trumpets is also after a 29 day month and should be booked for the expected day and also the following day just in case the moon light is not seen as expected.”

But the reality is that it’s more than just the Feast of Trumpets that would be affected, should this occur in the autumn. It also affects the Day of Atonement, and the whole Feast of Tabernacles – which would also move back by a day should this occur.

Whole complexes hired for the Feast of Tabernacles moved back by one day with less than two weeks notice – having been booked for several years in advance in some cases!

I know someone meant well by providing information about the COGWA paper on the calendar. However, most of the research that comes from the Armstrong movement is flawed because HWA was impressed by and incorporated Hisloppian methodology into his works. It permeates all of the booklets and articles which required any sort of research, Herman Hoeh being perhaps its most formidable practitioner, and therefore cannot be trusted, sabbath observance notwithstanding. Just because someone keeps the Sinai covenant sabbath does not mean that they cannot produce disingenuous research.

A person would be better off personally investigating Hillel II, and his work on the fixed (as opposed to observed) calendar. There are still difficulties with the calendar, but grasping Hillel's work lays the ground work for additional understanding.

9.01 The 'what HWA had taught' troll strikes again. Have you ever considered looking at the world through your own eyes? Doing your own reasoning? Observing Gods creation? Studying the bible independently?

Not that the Emperor has no clothes or anything, but we've only been able to get live updates from Jerusalem since the dawn of radio- what did the 'scattered brethren' do for all the many centuries before?

...we've only been able to get live updates from Jerusalem since the dawn of radio- what did the 'scattered brethren' do for all the many centuries before?

The answer is simple.They had a special delusion from God to tell them of the time of ripe barley: the Holy Spirit!It's that special lil' witchcraft that can give any Christian illusions of having superpowers, even though the information it imparts to one person is often diametrically opposed to the info it imparts to another person.

Thankfully, any Christian can KNOW they're blessed and have that "real deal Holy Spirit" in them. If they feel tingling, 'see things', and interpret whatever they want as being supernatural events, they can then KNOW that God is rewarding and blessing them for sincerely 'praying their asses off' to the Christian Gods- better than others are!